About Feelings stored deep beneath the heart – A blog by Tejasvita Singh

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Ever since I visited this land, it feels that whatever has been written or described about this land is not sufficient to justify the cosmic beauty of Valley of Kashmir. War over the geographical boundaries could not destroy the blessed beauty of nature. Moving through the valley seems like moving through the path which is covered by snow laden mountains all around the corners. View of Himalayan mountains and the constant companionship of river Jhelum would never leave anyone alone. Sometimes humming and sometimes roaring, but the presence of Jhelum would always be there. Leaves of Chinar are as fascinating to watch as it always feels while reading about them in the books. For me, it is like unfolding the pages from my books. I wish I could have also seen the apples in the apple valley, white flowers have covered the entire orchards. It is so exciting to imagine the presence of apples in those orchards, just in a few months. And there is not one or two orchards, but there is valley called apple valley while going to Pahalgam. While driving through the valley, I feel that those perfect paintings and photographs in the books and websites are part of my vision too.

Tulips, I have seen them alive for the first time in my life and I fall in love with them. Massive collection of Tulips in almost every color I can imagine it to be, are there. There are rows after rows dedicated to different colors of Tulips. Forget the colors, there are also contrast in the color combinations of these flowers. When you follow the end of these tulip’s rows, your eyes would meet the clouds almost dropping down from the mountains. When you follow these clouds, you would meet the snow-covered zenith of Himalayan ranges. That’s like a never-ending process, seems like treasure to the eyes and peace to the mind. But above all, solace to the soul comes from the warm approach and hospitality of the local people. In a true sense, they treat their guests as their God, as per our own tradition. They are delighted to receive you as their guests. I stayed with a local family for few days I spent in Kashmir and I would never forget the honor and happiness which they expressed by making me as a part of them for those days. Geographical boundaries have not succeeded to create any marking or boundary in the thoughts of normal people who want to be the part of normal lives.

History and future, both the aspects of this valley are soulful. War over geographical boundaries have injured the lives of normal people. Kashmir is said to be heaven on Earth and off course the natural blessings to this land is divine which is even difficult to document. But the common civilians who want to be the part of common lives shall never be judged and given the opportunity to be the part of them. It is dreadful to live in an environment that is constantly under the rage of fire. Paradise on the Earth cannot be remained as paradise until or unless the population of beautiful human beings living under the roof of Himalayas start living like any other human being in different part of the same country. Then I guess that this saying would be true in real sense “People call it heaven; we call it home “

The strength of character has always attracted me and in a Woman the same strength uplifts the beauty by inducing invincible confidence. I always find this more enchanting than anything else. While creating this vision , I tried experimenting with my imagination and some inspiration found here and there.

I tried creating different shades but with the same wonderful source of strength.

“Running is nothing more than a series of arguments between the part of your brain that wants to stop and the part that wants to keep going” .

I read it somewhere and instantly I discovered my motivation for participating in 21 Km Marathon. Certainly for ‘not so regular runner’, like me it is definitely a challenge to complete 21 km track in a decent time. I had always ran 10 km and it had never been the question of ” DO or Die” for me but completing 21 km marathon seemed to me somewhere the same. I really wanted to challenge my own potential but on that particular note. Honestly I had the feeling that I am all eagerly ready to bear that physical pain which I face after completing 10 Km. And this time in more than double doses and might be worse than that. But I was sure that I was unnecessarily getting apprehensive about it because being an avid trekker I never faced such occasions much (Do or Die one). So with complete self-motivation I ran on final day. Since I had the practice for 10 km so half of the distance didn’t cost me much. But after that the same mental blockage started building up. “Oh my God! , you have to run the same distance again , with this high-speed breath and perfectly tired feet “ . And this mental blockage was creating the perfect scene for giving up. But I was not at all ready to leave it incomplete anywhere. I gathered all my thoughts to those memories in the mountains and hills where I trek around tirelessly in the rough terrain for 4-5 hours or sometimes even longer than that. I kept myself isolated from my own negative visuals and continued running.Of course I was tired after sometime but never thought of giving up . I completed my track of 21 km in perfectly decent time and decent shape.

So, I can never deny from the well explained and well-intended meaning of these beautiful lines but definitely a powerful one.- “Running is nothing more than a series of arguments between the part of your brain that wants to stop and the part that wants to keep going” .

History has its own beauty which is always vintage. No matter how rugged everything looks , but there is always a legendary feel attached to it. I think beauty lies in the stories hidden beneath these structures. Beauty of the historical places need to be decoded from the stories and the feelings attached to these stories.
I went to Amer Fort in Rajasthan , few days back. I think the feeling of royalty touched upon me , the moment I saw the staircases towards the Fort. And then, the huge and massive structures and the historical figures and stories attached to those structures , everything makes the place a historical treat. Amer Fort is recognized by the name of Raja Man Singh and his descendants . Even after centuries we retell the stories of the king , descendants, family and everything attached to him because everything is intricated in these structures, somewhere. Such places have the quality of taking us to that era and feel the essence of that genre.

When the call of mountain arises, it become irresistible to ignore the calling. Sometimes I wonder that what else we achieve other than the serene beauty of nature, after conquering the peak with all the bruises and physical pain. And it comes straightforward that is the immense satisfaction of conquering our own challenges and fear. This journey itself teaches us lot many things, in a nutshell probably the journey of life where we walk, run, trip, arise, have fun and sometimes set apart from loved ones, but subconsciously we all are moving towards own goal in our own path. Certainly, this is the reason I enjoy hiking because somewhere it relaxes the nerves of brain to relate to new things which we casually ignore and never feel related to in our daily lives.

Recently I went to Kullu, Himachal Pradesh. Although I was excited to deal with the snow but unfortunately snowfall started the day I left the place. But there is something in the aroma of hills and mountains that ultimately soothes my nerves. And I guess it happens with everyone. This is some sort of meditation which is difficult to explain in words.

Nature has its various versions of beauty but I always have crush for its raw version of beauty which is found in watching the sunrise and sunset sitting on the edge of a cliff. And I am sure its worth all the attention and pain endured to reach this.

Life is a treasure of beautiful opportunities and blessings if we really seek to create one. And in the long run, these blessings add to some unforgettable memories in the chapters of our life.

Our World is beautiful and humanity is the greatest contribution, in an effort to save this beauty. I believe, volunteering injected this belief in me, in a far stronger way than I have always tried to apprehend this.

When I decided to volunteer for Lighthouse project (non-profit initiative) , I was sure that this will add to new learnings and experiences in my life. But in actual when I really onboarded the journey, it was more than just an experience.

At the training session of the program, we all volunteers were provided with an envelope containing the details of our mentees. With a sense of responsibility, I joined this program. But, the moment I removed the form from the envelope, bright face of a very young girl in the passport size photo met my eyes. All of a sudden, the value and sensitivity of my commitment banged my head. A feeling that, this innocent face and kind smile needed all my sincere efforts. Later on, I came to know about her background and the background of other students as well. And certainly, moments like this, make me more humble and thankful towards almighty, instead of being a difficult child for him. Living in my own space has never been a big deal for me, this is something that I always took for granted. But this is a privilege to the uncountable population in our country. It is well said that the hardships and struggles of life carve strong character out of a human. The urge to come out of the darkness becomes so strong that it pushes to reach the heights which are a dream to many of us. Well, this was only day-1 but filled me with lots of inspiration and compassion.

One week later came the day 2 – Somewhere; it was in my head that it would be fun since it was an ice breaking session. And seriously, I believe that we (me and my mentee) melted all the gap between us and major contribution goes to the little girl who never let me feel that I was a new member in her world. The sweet and kind smile was an indication of warm reception which made me comfortable to start our conversation. As instructed, we were supposed to know about each other. I briefed her about me and then she started about herself. Well, forget about the hardships of her life, this is the thing which I knew very well before meeting her and evaluating her on the account of her hardships; I don’t think that child needs all these things to identify her. Well, I told her about my profession and asked about her aspirations. Very energetically she declared “Didi, I want to be an archaeologist and a filmmaker”. Seriously, I was not prepared for this reply; we are so much used to the preconceived notion that anything out of the box surprises us; at least for me, it was quite an amazement. And very true to her aspiration, she was fond of history and arts. I really appreciate that a 13-year-old kid was able to neatly distinguish her likes and dislikes.Once done with a formal introduction, special activities were designed by lighthouse team to enforce the trust and warmth between the mentor and mentee pair. And that was real fun and I overjoyed the moment of sharing a very little part of my life with her. Life is long and, in comparison, the time which I am contributing to her is almost nothing. But these few hours were full of real laughter and fun that will remain with me forever.

I am anxiously looking for rest of the journey, and these blissful moments are going to leave some irreplaceable impressions in my life, which will continue to challenge me with its innocence.

Mahatma Gandhi is one such name that will remain alive, not only on Indian soil
but all over the world whenever the history, culture and roots and foundation of
Independent India will be discussed. We often imagine situations if Bapu were
alive today, then how would he react to the current scenario of independent
India. And considering Mahatma Gandhi just as a mere spectator, it’s difficult to
predict whether he would be proud or ashamed of the existing Indian scenario.
No doubt our country has travelled far ahead, since independence and certainly
there are several milestones achieved during this journey, for which we declare
ourselves as proud Indians. And if Bapu would have seen the commitment and
attitude of those Indians to achieve such milestones, he certainly would have
been delighted and found himself blessed. The martyrdom of soldiers for free
motherland may seem worthy in lieu of achievements of free India. These
achievements are none other than the leap of 70 years young country in the field
of science & technology, economy, defense, entertainment, education and art &
literature. But there are several other issues which are so disgraceful that tarnish
the pride of the nation and these are none other than the old and rotten issues
like corruption, malnutrition, poor status of women, rural ignorance, illiteracy and
many others which lose their significance in this list. But instead if our country
would have been in the guidance of the man himself, perhaps the scenario would
be something else, definitely influenced by his ideologies.
The attitude of dealing with the problems and issues in India would have been
different, perhaps touched by the force of non-violence and truth. Although it’s
quite intriguing to imagine that how Mahatma would have dealt with the
massacre and political upheavals created after the independence as well as the
partition of India. Kashmir unrest might have taken a different approach. As per
the rulebook of truth and non-violence, had this brutal bloodshed in the name of
land of Kashmir would have been accepted? What would have been done to
prevent this, had we surrendered to prevent the violence and massacre or
continued the battle for the pride and the right of the nation? Well, this is only
one aspect; there are multiple affairs which might have been dealt differently.
Mahatma Gandhi’s principles can be derived from non-cooperation movement,
Satyagraha, Swaraj and Swadeshi movement. The man who always stood against
the rapid industrialization under colonial rule and advocated the growth of Indian
economy through revival of Indian domestic products and production processes;
perhaps in the current scenario the impact of globalization and a craze of
multinationals among youth would have been moderate. In current scenario
when the world is shrinking under the power of globally interdependent economy
and technological advancement, we couldn’t have been left untouched by the
impact of such trends. But probably, under the influence of powerful political
leader like Mahatma Gandhi, the acceptance and impact of this trend in our
country would have been different. Domestic products and processes would have
been safeguarded to prevent its downfall because Mahatma Gandhi always
believed in the power of self-sufficiency. His vision of independent India always
travelled through the path of Indian villages, where the majority of the population
is surviving under extreme poverty and lack of basic needs. The upliftment of
Indian villages definitely would have been the priority of government.
Atrocities on Dalits, Castesism, poverty, poor status of women, drug addiction
would have gained some valid and fruitful voice in our Parliament rather than
being subjects of mere political propaganda.
The magic and the influence of Gandhi which was so impactful and dominant
during the pre-independence era, if would have continued, then our nation would
have a powerful and subtle face on the global platform. The man who took the
world by storm, would have presented a powerful and independent face of India
on the international platform. It is quite intriguing to imagine the same Bapu,
prominent and distinguished among the world’s most powerful leaders, sharing
the International platform on global subjects.
The voice of a strong leader is very important to drive the folk. And if Gandhi were
alive today, then no matter which political party claims the throne under
democratic rule, that man could never be left unnoticed and unheard. It does not
mean that we could claim that India would be the finest nation in the world with
Bapu’s presence. The Future is not predictable and our nation was struggling
against the evil during his presence also, the only difference is the presence of
strong driving force of change. And if Gandhi were alive today, the struggle
against the national threats would have gained a stronger and firmer voice which
would have certainly helped Indians towards building India of their own dreams,
rather than loosing faith in the system.
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world”
-Mahatma Gandhi

My Child, life is different for different people. Life is not same for everyone. Maybe what is hell for you, is the urge for someone. See, you are so physically well, some people just urge for their hand to work well or legs to work well, to make few comfortable steps. Imagine the pain of such people. Definitely , more than yours!

Yess… I know. But still , why I have to wait for the left over toys, that when they will be thrown off and I will get the chance to play. It hurts me mom.

You are fortunate dear that almighty is giving you the chance to ask something from him. When you will ask anything from him , he will guide you and then you will connect to him.

So??

This connection keeps you close to your heart, dear. There is nothing more valuable than establishing the connection with yourself.

Will this connection solve the miseries of our life?

Off course not, it will not do any miracle . But it will give you the immense strength to overcome the challenges of your life and that will determine the strength of your character.Feel privileged that god has given you the opportunity to polish yourself in your own way. You know sometimes this urge becomes so strong that it will extract the best out of you, if taken in a positive path.

The little kid was not left with any more arguments to defend his point . He slowly walked out of the cottage with his books.

He was trying to reconnect and reconcile whatever his mother just said, when his eyes moved to those lines at the book in his hand “The Lotus flower blooms most beautifully from the deepest and thickets mud ” .

Finally he comprehend what his mother just said and went back to her with satisfaction.